Naskapi Nation of Kawawachikamach ( nsk, script=Cans, ᓇᔅᑲᐱ ᐃᔪᒡ ᐅᑕ ᑲᐛᐛᒋᑲᒪᒡ, translit=Naskapi Iyuch Uta Kawâwâchikamach, french: links=no, Nation Naskapi de Kawawachikamach) is a

First Nation Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

band government In Canada, an Indian band or band (french: bande indienne, link=no), sometimes referred to as a First Nation band (french: bande de la Première Nation, link=no) or simply a First Nation, is the basic unit of government for those peoples subjec ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, Canada. The members of the band are ethnically

Naskapi The Naskapi (Nascapi, Naskapee, Nascapee) are an Indigenous people of the Subarctic native to the historical country St'aschinuw (ᒋᑦ ᐊᔅᒋᓄᐤ, meaning 'our nclusiveland'), which is located in northern Quebec and Labrador, neighb ...

Innu The Innu / Ilnu ("man", "person") or Innut / Innuat / Ilnuatsh ("people"), formerly called Montagnais from the French colonial period ( French for "mountain people", English pronunciation: ), are the Indigenous inhabitants of territory in the ...

and speak the

Naskapi language Naskapi (also known as ᐃᔪᐤ ᐃᔨᒧᐅᓐ/Iyuw Iyimuun in the Naskapi language) is an Algonquian language spoken by the Naskapi in Quebec and Labrador, Canada. It is written in Eastern Cree syllabics. The term Naskapi is chiefly used to ...

. The Naskapi Nation of Kawawachikamach is the only Naskapi band in Quebec; there is another Naskapi band, Mushuau Innu First Nation located in

Labrador , nickname = "The Big Land" , etymology = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Canada , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 ...

Location

Most members of the Nation live on their ''Terres réservées aux Naskapis'' or

Naskapi reserved land The following is a list of the types of local and supralocal territorial units in Quebec, including those used solely for statistical purposes, as defined by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs, Regions and Land Occupancy and compiled by the Insti ...

(or

Indian reserve In Canada, an Indian reserve (french: réserve indienne) is specified by the '' Indian Act'' as a "tract of land, the legal title to which is vested in Her Majesty, that has been set apart by Her Majesty for the use and benefit of a band." Ind ...

) of

Kawawachikamach, Quebec Kawawachikamach ( nsk, script=Cans, ᑲᐛᐛᒋᑲᒪᒡ, translit=Kawâwâchikamach) is a Naskapi/Iyiyiw First Nations reserve and community at the south end of Lake Matemace (where it joins Lake Peter), approximately northeast of Scheffervill ...

, approximately north of

Schefferville Schefferville is a town in the Canadian province of Quebec. Schefferville is in the heart of the Naskapi and Innu territory in northern Quebec, less than 2 km (1¼ miles) from the border with Labrador on the north shore of Knob Lake. It i ...

. Schefferville is not connected to the North American road network but is accessible by airplane via the

Schefferville Airport Schefferville Airport is located adjacent to the community of Schefferville, Quebec, Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northw ...

or by train. Schefferville is the northern terminus of

Tshiuetin Rail Transportation Tshiuetin Rail Transportation Inc. is a rail company that owns and operates a Canadian regional railway that stretches through the wilderness of western Labrador and northeastern Quebec. It connects Emeril, Labrador with Schefferville, Quebec ...

, which is partially owned by the Nation, with service to

Sept-Îles, Quebec Sept-Îles (Quebec French pronunciation : , French for "Seven Islands") is a city in the Côte-Nord region of eastern Quebec. It is among the northernmost locales with a paved connection to the rest of Quebec's road network. The population was ...

. The primary reserve, where the members live, is . The band also has control of a

Naskapi village municipality The following is a list of the types of local and supralocal territorial units in Quebec, including those used solely for statistical purposes, as defined by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs, Regions and Land Occupancy and compiled by the Insti ...

of the same name which is . Somewhat contrary to the names, in Quebec, ''Terres réservées aux Naskapis'' are parcels of land set aside for the permanent residence of Naskapi First Nations. ''Village Naskapi'' are adjacent to ''Terres réservées aux Naskapis'' although its members do not reside there permanently.

Population

, the Nation had a registered population of 793 with 688 people living on their reserve and 105 living off the reserve or on other (non-Kawawachikamach) lands. From

Statistics Canada Statistics Canada (StatCan; french: Statistique Canada), formed in 1971, is the agency of the Government of Canada commissioned with producing statistics to help better understand Canada, its population, resources, economy, society, and cultur ...

's 2016 Census, 601 people lived on the Kawawachikamach reserve up 2.6% from 586 in 2011 Census. With regards to speaking official languages, 70.3% reported only speaking

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

while only 1.7% reported speaking only French; 21.5% speak both official languages. 97.5% reported an

indigenous language An indigenous language, or autochthonous language, is a language that is native to a region and spoken by indigenous peoples. This language is from a linguistically distinct community that originated in the area. Indigenous languages are not neces ...

, most often

. is most spoken in the home.

References

{{reflist First Nations governments in Quebec Naskapi